Russell Westbrook: You So Crazy! (And, Now, So Filthy Rich)

Russell Westbrook got paid this week, agreeing with the Thunder to an extension worth $80 million over five years. Westbrook, a 23 year-old guard who needs his gnarled emotions like teammate Kevin Durant needs killer cool, will still be the subject of rumor and speculation. After all, if the Thunder do indeed have plans of moving him in order to keep the rest of their youthful core intact, they can hardly make it seem like they don't want him—or that he's somehow objectively undesirable.

Waiting this long to put the contract together may just be more Sam Presti magic; the GM has earned the right to defy standard operating procedure. But as Westbrook hurtled ever closer to unrestricted free agency, one had to ask: what exactly would the effect of an unstable employment situation be on a moody athlete who thrives on unpredictability? In Minnesota, Kevin Love is getting restless. The Thunder, whose next logical stop is the NBA Finals, can't afford to play those kind of mind games.

Much of what's said about Westbrook is the result of hyperbole, or Steve Francis flashbacks. He's a victim of his own style and body language; these are the data that power most NBA coverage, even when afforded a backstage pass. The attempts to hype up a rivalry with Durant are manufactured psychodrama. Durant is polite and disciplined, Westbrook brash and chaotic. They complement each other, and clash on paper at times, but that's not the same as real enmity. Some might even call it variety. The Thunder are never a team in one single player's image which ideally, makes for a fluid, sneaky identity, not a battle for authority.

That said—and here's the burden of being Russell Westbrook—the 23 year-old guard is watched that much more closely, and judged more abrasively, when it comes to all manner of team dynamics. There were talks, even after point guard Eric Maynor was lost for the season, that the emergence of James Harden as a scoring force had made Westbrook expendable. Maynor would run the plays, Harden pick up the offensive slack, and much money, and headaches, would be saved in the process. Fun fact: The Thunder actually saved money by inking Westbrook now, since under the Derrick Rose rule, another All-NBA nod would net him the absolute max contract.

That's right where all critics of Westbrook should pinch themselves and say hello. If Durant is futuristic for his versatility, his mutant combination of smooth shooting, elastic size, and internal combustion, Westbrook is another pole of dominance: the force of nature, an elemental roar across the hardwood plains that can only be questioned so often. This isn't Francis or Stephon Marbury, wasting possessions and demonstrating textbook bad habits. Westbrook isn't even an eccentric. He plays basketball to win, conquer, destroy, feel good, and hang out with his pals. There's little distinction scribbled in there; Westbrook works in broad strokes, sometimes messy, sometimes exorbitant, but almost always worthwhile.

Almost any other team in the league would jump at the chance to acquire him; the player he resembles most is reigning MVP Derrick Rose, albeit with more rough edges and less overall streamlining. Russell Westbrook isn't going to crash and burn, or sabotage his own chances. If anything, he's only going to get better. And while he has in the past shown some willingness to suppress his impulses, increasingly, those ups and downs are part of the Thunder's game plan.

Durant might not ever come out and tell Presti, or Scott Brooks, that he didn't enjoy working with Westbrook. It's not in his nature, even when done through surrogates. The fact remains, though, that Russell Westbrook wouldn't be gobbling up that much payroll if Durant was unenthusiastic about their future together. Call out Durant for being too deferential or friendly. Or maybe, accept that KD (and Presti) know a lot more about basketball than the rest of us, both intuitively and on a more cerebral level. They don't over-think Russell: he's a bat out of hell in a league where Ricky Rubio is a superstar after 12 games. He gets hot, flares up, plunges the team into disrepair. Nothing lasts; Westbrook has no agenda.

Like Durant, he's just a kid who loves basketball. He also loves flat-out eliminating anyone dumb enough to think they can guard or get past him. That zero-sum gift is simple, but profound. The Thunder know how little a team should want to suit up against Russell Westbrook. He's far more dangerous to the opponents than he could ever be to his own squad.

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